Her innuendo landed with the delicacy of a nuclear bomb, and his intense gaze seared a white-hot arc along her skin. He took his sweet time, eyes tracing a burning path from the glass in her hand, to the too-tight T-shirt Davis had brought her, to the ends of her still-damp hair.
When he reached the line of her jaw, he slowed his roll even further, taking his time as his gaze lingered on her lips, her bruised cheek, until finally, his eyes met hers. “I’ll give you whatever you want, princess, all you have to do is ask.”
Easy enough—also impossible while paralyzed by a desire so overwhelming it consumed her. She wanted Adam. Right here. Right now. On her. In her. Hard sex. The kind of fucking that would leave her mind blown and her body sore in all the right places.
The kind of sex that made a girl forget her own name.
All in. No holds barred. Pure carnal pleasure.
No thoughts. No emotions. No morning after regrets.
Eve squirmed in her seat, rejected the idea, and grew a spine. Sex with Adam would change everything—for her. He already had too much control, and she needed to remember why she was with him in the first place.
Twelve women dead.
Lucky number thirteen alive.
Guilt hit her like a sledgehammer to the chest.
There could only be one reason for God to spare her. The Matthews needed stopping, and she was the bolt of lightning sent to strike them down. Failure wasn’t an option. She owed the women who died before her the guarantee none would come after.
Adam was a distraction. A test of her will. An obstacle put in her path to prove she was worthy of the second chance she’d been given. “In that case, I’d like to have the key to my truck back.”
To her surprise, he nodded—once—and she recognized the terse acknowledgment for what it meant. Without a word, he’d given her a promise she knew he would keep. “Is tomorrow morning soon enough?” he asked, releasing his hold on her by dropping his gaze to cut a thick chunk from the forgotten brick of cheese. He speared the slice through the middle and offered it to her with the tip of his blade.
In a careful-what-you-wish-for kind of way, her heart seized causing an acute pain in her chest.
Tomorrow.
Far too late, and way too soon.
“Yes. Thank you.” With a lousy attempt at a smile, she accepted his cheesy proposal. The first bite caused an explosion of flavors on her tongue, and she closed her eyes in rapture. Mother. Of. God. Adam had found the holy grail of aged cheddar.
The second bite? Unapologetically unyielding. Complex. Bold. Sharp. Like the man himself. And that’s when it hit her. He might be returning her vehicle, but he had no intention of letting her go. Not on her own.
Her eyes snapped open, and his were there, gray irises ready and waiting. “You’re going to follow me.”
“No.”
Disappointment rocked her. “Then who?”
“Grant.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s the only one I trust.” Rare to see Adam without his guns strapped on, he turned his back, strode to the gas stove, and flipped burgers like a seasoned fry cook.
“Not what I meant,Sam, and you know it.” Stupid move calling him by his pseudonym and childish to think it would get her anywhere, but at least she’d caught his attention. Not necessarily a good thing going by the hard set of his jaw as he put aside the metal spatula and approached her.
Hand disappearing between her legs, he palmed the underside of her stool and dragged her close. In response, she had to spread her thighs wide to accommodate his, the proximity forcing her to tilt her chin up to maintain eye contact.
“Two things,” he said, releasing her chair and dipping his head low enough she felt the warmth of his breath on her skin. “My name is Adam, and yes, there are secrets between us, but no lies. If you have questions about me, ask them. If I can tell you the truth, I will. If I can’t, I’ll let you know. Fair enough?”
Hands fisted in her lap to keep from reaching for him, Eve swallowed. Nodded. Swallowed again.
“As to why I won’t let you go off on your own, do I need to remind you how I found you?” He brushed the tip of his fingers over her healing wrist, and she shivered despite the heat between them.
“No.”
